Micro-mechanical gyroscopes and accelerometers must be sealed in a vacuum or inert atmosphere to operate. Two methods of vacuum sealing sensors are in use. In one method a lid with a small hole in it is welded on a chip carrier after a sensor is mounted inside. The chip carrier is then placed in a vacuum chamber and heated for several hours to drive out moisture and activate a getter element. Sealing is accomplished by dropping an indium ball on the lid, which melts and plugs the small hole as the chip carrier cools under vacuum. In the second method, oversized lids and chip carriers are placed in compartments of graphite trays. The lid tray is suspended above the chip carrier tray in a vacuum chamber and heated by passing an electric current through it. At the end of the degas time, the chip carrier tray is raised. Holes in the bottom of the lid tray allow the chip carriers to contact the lids. When this occurs, a braze preform on the chip carrier melts and seals the lid to the chip carrier. These methods of sealing require significant touch labor and processing time. They also yield packages that are less than sufficiently robust for military applications. The indium ball seal can soften and leak at temperatures above 125.degree. C., while the oversize lid flexes and cracks its braze seal when subjected to high acceleration, e.g., a gun launch. The chip carrier with the weldable seal ring that is used in the indium ball process is expensive. In addition, in both approaches the sealing preform is added to the chip carrier after the chip is bonded into the carrier so that the chip can be damaged or contaminated during that process.